Verdict upheld: A federal appeals court has refused to revive a Louisiana levee board’s lawsuit blaming dozens of oil and gas companies for damage to the state’s fragile coast. The Associated Press reports the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling today upheld a federal judge’s 2015 decision in favor of energy companies that argued the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East lacked legal standing to bring damage claims. The board had argued that damage to the coast done by decades of drilling and canal dredging by energy companies contributed to the loss of coastal wetlands that form a hurricane buffer for New Orleans.
Going up: Costco Wholesale Corp. announced Thursday that it’s raising its membership fees as the warehouse club operator released quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. The Associated Press reports that annual membership fees for individual, business and business add-on members in the U.S. and Canada will rise $5 to $60 beginning on June 1. Executive memberships in the U.S. and Canada will increase from $110 to $120. Overall, the fee increases will affect around 35 million members. The Issaquah, Washington-based company reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $515 million, or $1.17 per share. Read the full story.
Expanding fast: U.S. services companies expanded in February at the fastest pace since October 2015, The Associated Press reports. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group for purchasing managers, says that its services index rose to 57.6 last month from 56.5 in January. Anything above 50 signals growth. The services sector has now expanded for 86 straight months. Production, new orders and hiring grew faster in February. Sixteen services industries reported growth in February, led by utilities companies and mines. Only real estate and information services reported a contraction in business. More than 70% of American jobs are in private services. Read the full story.
